For this week’s “Remember When?” we are continuing the series of World War II servicemen. By sorting through the photos of Mr. Mulder of Lakewood, Calif., we found several of the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Sid Boom (deceased) of Edgerton. Mr. and Mrs. Bouma had seven sons and one daughter, and we learned that six sons served during World War II and there was a short period of time when all six were in service at once. The seventh son, Fred, served overseas shortly after the war ended, so we included him with his brothers also. The seven sons are: Adrian, Alvin, Bernard, James, John, and Wallace who served in World War II and Fred who served after the war ended.

John Bouma was the first to enter service. He entered on Oct. 3, 1939, before the U.S. entered the conflict which began in Europe in 1939. He served with the U.S. Navy and was trained at the Great Lakes Naval Station., Ill., and at San Diego, Calif. His theater of operations was in the South Pacific and China, and returned to the United States on May 3, 1943, and again on Oct. 12, 1945, after having served a total of 74 months. He achieved the rank of Chief Pharmacist Mate. John is married and is living in Silver Spring, Md., where he is a psychiatrist.

 The second son to enter service was Bernard. On Oct. 20, 1942, he joined the Marine Air Corps. He was trained at Pensacola, Fla., Corpus Christi, Texas, and Jacksonville and Miami, Fla. He served in the American theater of operations. John received his discharge on March 30, 1946, with the rank of First Lieutenant at Miramar Air Depot, Calif. He served a total of 41 months. Bernard is married and is living in Shreveport, La., where he is in the insurance business.

Alvin was the third son to enter service. He entered on Dec. 11, 1942, a few months after Bernard did. He served with the Army Air Corp. Following his basic training at Camp Grant, Ill., he was assigned to the Veterinary Corps as a meat and dairy inspector. Eight months later he was re-assigned to the Air Force, specifically the Air Transport Command. He served the entire time as a butcher in the mess hall and was stationed in camps and airports from the east to the west coast. His oversea assignments were at Hickman Field in Hawaii and Kwajelin. He received his discharge on March 10, 1946, at Camp Grant, Ill., after having served 40 months. Alvin is married, lives in Minneapolis, and is retired from the Postal Service.

Fourth in line to enter the service was Adrian Bouma, on May 23, 1943, with the Navy.  He was trained at the U.S. Naval Training Service at Farragut, Idaho, and was sent overseas on April 1, 1944. He served in the Pacific Theater of operations and returned to the U.S. on May 9, 1947. He had achieved the rank of Ship’s Cook, and Butcher at the time of his discharge on May 27, 1949, at Treasure Island, Calif. He served five years and a month. Adrian is married and resides in Edgerton where he is a partner in the Edgerton Meat Market business with his brother, James.

James Bouma was the fifth son to enter service. He joined the U.S. Navy on Nov. 28, 1944, and was trained at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Farragut, Idaho, and at the Small Crafts Training Center at Cerritos, Calif. James served on the Atlantic Fleet including the Arabian Gulf area, and on the Pacific Fleet including the Hawaiian Islands. He was dismissed on Oct. 24, 1951, with the rank of Yoeman First Class. He served 6 years, 20 months, and 23 days.

Sixth in line to enter service was Harold Wallace, better known to Edgerton people as Wally. He entered the service with Naval Aviation on Sept. 12, 1945, near the end of the war. He received his training at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, Calif., and also at Jacksonville, Fla., and Memphis, Tenn. In September of 1946 he left to serve in the Hawaiian Islands area. He returned to the U.S. on April 27, 1947, and received his discharge on Jan. 5, 1949, after having served 23 months. Following his discharge he returned to Edgerton where he owned and operated a barber shop. He is deceased and his wife, Verna, resides in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Fred Bouma was the seventh and last to enter the service. He served in the Army from Nov. 16, 1951, to Oct. 29, 1953, during the Korean War.  He received his basic training in Fort Meade, Maryland. In the summer of 1952 he was at Fort Sam Houston inn San Antonio, Texas, where he took a course in water treatment. Fred went overseas in September of 1952 and was stationed at Werner Kaserne near Munich, Germany. At this base he was assigned to the medical dispensary and did admitting and records work. They also were involved in field maneuvers during the winter of 1953. He is married and lives in Edgerton. Fred was a partner in the Meat Market business for 18 years and administrator of the Edgebrook Rest Center in Edgerton for five years from which he resigned because of health problems.

Sid Bouma, father of the Bouma boys, was a partner in the Bouma-Schultz Meat Market, now known as the Edgerton Meat Market. All seven of the sons at one time or another helped in the store with the work. It is now owned and managed by Adrian and Jim.

Again, our thanks to Mr. Mulder and other for helping make this feature possible.